The field of nursing has expanded rapidly in recent years. There are many new exciting treatment technologies and a growing respect for the profession. If you are looking for a challenging and rewarding career, consider these eight benefits of becoming a nurse.
1. Job Security
Ask anyone who works in a medical setting if there are enough nurses today and they will tell you no. In fact, by 2016 there will be a chronic shortage of nurses. For people who need the care, this is awful news, but it’s great news for anyone thinking of becoming a nurse. A short supply of nurses will drive up salaries and job security in all parts of the field.
2. Wide Variety
There are not only many different specialties, but also many different types of workplaces for nurses. You can work in pediatrics, neurology or oncology, as well as in a school, hospital or any type of clinic. If you fall out of love with one aspect of nursing, there are many highly related options that you can easily switch to and excel in. There are also many different positions in nursing depending on where you work. Teaching, managing and researching are all options a nurse can pursue.
3. Nurses are Needed Everywhere
Unlike some jobs, nurses learn similar things no matter where they are trained. Even if you get a degree in one state, it’s often very easy to get qualified in another. All you typically have to do is seek reciprocity in the state you want to move to. The benefit here is that you can go to school anywhere and still have great flexibility and job prospects. You can also take nursing classes online and be qualified for many different nursing positions.
4. Continuously Improving Care Technology
One of the biggest complaints an average employee has as they move throughout their career is that their job responsibilities stagnate. For the vast majority of nursing fields, you will always be challenged. Every day new medical technologies are being created and applied to improve patient care. You will have the opportunity to work with cutting edge equipment and use the latest care techniques.
5. High Degree of Social Interaction
In most nursing jobs, there is a great deal of interaction with coworkers, but most importantly patients. While not all people enjoy this, if you are someone who loves meeting new people and helping them in many different ways, this benefit of the job cannot be stated enough.
6. An Opportunity to Change Lives
By far the best reason to get into nursing is to fuel a passion for helping people. You will have the opportunity to save lives as a nurse. Teaching, caring for and nurturing people at all stages of their lives is a great responsibility, but will yield an immense reward. While nursing may offer many quantitative benefits, this aspect of the job pays you in a way that cannot be expressed with words.
7. Respect
While it used to be a field thought of mostly as caretakers, nursing is now a highly respected field. Some jobs in the field are comparable in difficulty and required knowledge as certain types of physicians. People understand the hard work that is put into becoming a nurse and then selflessly caring for all of their patients.
8. A Chance to Travel
If you become a nurse, there will always be an opportunity to travel across the world. The skills that you learn while being educated in the United States are invaluable in countries where education is not well developed. You can not only see many countries, but your work during your time will have a massive impact on people that need it. While it varies depending on the exact program you work with, many travelling nurses are paid exceptionally well, even compared to most normal nursing jobs.
These are eight of the best benefits of becoming a nurse. If you haven’t considered nursing as a viable career option, it’s time to take steps towards achieving that goal. If you'd like to delve into another medical profession and would also like to travel, going to a medical school outside of the US, visiting a site like www.allsaintsuniversity.org to see your options and broaden your potential for the future.
